IBIA report shows rise in suspicious betting alerts
The last year saw the IBIA report its highest total of betting alerts since 2020.
The latest report on suspicious betting alerts from the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) shows that football and tennis continue to be the sports most vulnerable to match-fixing.
In 2025, the association recorded 300 alerts across all sports – the highest figure since 2020. Football accounted for 110 alerts, while tennis followed with 74. The “other sports” category accounted for 116 alerts, including in disciplines such as cricket, basketball, and table tennis.
IBIA data led to 54 matches being confirmed as manipulated during the year. Some 24 athletes across multiple sports were sanctioned as a result.
Europe remained the most heavily impacted region, consistently surpassing 100 alerts annually since 2021, with the exception of 2024. Asia ranked second in terms of risk, while South America, North America, and Africa showed relatively similar figures.
IBIA’s CEO Khalid Ali said: “Our 2025 data highlights a familiar integrity risk pattern, with football and tennis continuing to account for most suspicious betting activity. At the same time, the greater scale and reach of our Global Monitoring and Alert Platform means our ability to detect, assess and support investigations across markets and sports has increased. This is driven by operator intelligence generated by our membership and their continued commitment to identifying, disrupting and preventing betting-related corruption through collective action and information-sharing with our partners.”
This year’s report also included a special focus on Africa after the IBIA reported 117 alerts on African sporting events during 2021-25. The report notes that H2 Gambling Capital forecasts that Africa’s total betting gross gambling revenue (GGR) will grow from US$3.5bn in 2021 to $19.4bn by 2030.
As regulated betting markets continue to develop across the African continent, the IBIA views that early engagement, data-driven monitoring and collaboration with regulators and sports bodies as crucial to safeguarding sporting and betting market integrity.
While, South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana currently lead GGR in the continent, the report notes that
smaller markets are expected to be a significant driver of future growth.
